Study of Light fastness Properties of Saffron Used in Paper Dyeing according to Historical Treatises

The purpose of this study is investigation of the colourfastness of saffron according to the instructions of dyeing in Persian historical treatises, and identifying the advantages and disadvantages of applying it in the restoration of manuscripts. Three types of selected papers (I, II and III) were dyed with saffron via different instructions. Ageing was done based on the ISIRI 20283 in Xenon container. Then, the color changes, fiber morphology and degree of cellulose degradation were compared before and after ageing. The experiments had shown that paper III, which was not dyed, had more stability than the other two types of paper after ageing. Comparing three types of dyeing methods, saffron had not been caused the oxidation of papers and the direct dyeing method was more appropriate for dyeing among three types of papers. Colourfastness in meta-mordanting method was more stable than pre-mordanting method. However, in the pre-mordanting method, comparing the total color difference (∆E) show that paper II was more stable than paper I. So, the type of paper can affect on the colourfastness of dye and this should be considered as an important issue in dyeing.